Page 1720 1664 1579 1679 1632 Statement of —Continued Roberts, Delmar, president, New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, Anthony, N. Mex... Sloughhouse, Calif Saetre, Gaylord A., Moorhead, Minn- Sahm, Alvin, George West, Tex- Schmidt, William A., Sinton, Tex --- Schraeder, James, Del Norte, Colo- Schwartz, Rudolph, president, Nevada State Farm Bureau, Paradise Sebbas, A. C., Lovelock, Nev... ery Operators Association, Chowchilla, Calif. Sehlmeyer, George H., master, California State Grange, Sacramento, Shelby, A. K., Earth, Tex. Calexico, Calif. Shone, Robert A., chairman, poultry department, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sebastopol, Calif Smith, Clinton, Raymondville, Tex... Cooperative Oil Mill, Wilson, Tex.. Advisory Committee, Fresno, Calif. western Cattle Raisers Association, Fort Worth, Tex --- , Ted, president, San Luis Valley Potato Improvement Associa- tion, Monte Vista, Colo Strauss, Gus J., Hallettsville, Tex. Stroope, G. O., Texas Beekeepers Association, Waxahachie, Tex. Swim, Harry A., California State Grange, Santa Rosa, Calif. Taylor, Robert C., Alamosa, Colo... Taylor, Robert J., Jr., Orange Cove, Calif. Thomas, Edward A., Spanish Fork, Utah Tipton, C. A., Silverton, Tex.-- Trentham, B. C., Quay County, N. Mex. Ward, George, Blooming Grove, Tex.. Watson, John S., chairman, Democratic Farmers Advisory Com- Weinzierl, Mrs. John F., Pierside, Tex. Wilcox, F. R., assistant general manager and treasurer, Sunkist Growers, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. Williams, E. B., Fresno, Calif. Wilson, George H., president, California Farm Bureau Federation, Wooten, J. Donald, Crosbyton, Tex. Youngren, Roy A., Beulah, Colo.. PRICE-SUPPORT PROGRAM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1955 UNITED STATES SENATE, Fresno, Calif. The committee met, pursuant to recess, at 9:10 a. m., in the ballroom of the Hotel Californian, Fresno, Calif. Present: Senator Ellender (chairman) presiding. Also present: Senator Bible from the State of Nevada, and Senator Kuchel of the State of California ; Congressman B. F. Sisk from the 12th Congressional District of the State of California, and Congressman Harlan Hagen from the 14th Congressional District of the State of California. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. Before we proceed, I would like to state that I am very happy to have at my side here your own Tommy Kuchel, your junior Senator, and to my left is Senator Alan Bible, from Nevada, and to his left, Congressman B. F. Sisk and Congressman Harlan Hagen, from California. I understand that Mr. Charles V. Dick, chief, Division of Plant Industry, California Department of Agriculture, Sacramento, Calif., desires to make a few introductory remarks, and the Chair recognizes Mr. Dick. STATEMENT OF CHARLES V. DICK, CHIEF, DIVISION OF PLANT INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SACRAMENTO, CALIF. Mr. DICK. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, it is my pleasure, in behalf of the executive branch of our State government, to extend to you and your group an official welcome to the State of California. Gov. Goodwin J. Knight and Mr. W. C. Jacobson, our director of agriculture, have each asked that I convey to you their greetings and best wishes for a pleasant and successful visit to this State. We are very happy that you could hold one of your hearings here in California. There are two other representatives of our State Department of Agriculture present today, Mr. W. J. Kurt and Mr. Merle Huslong. If there is anything that any one of us can do to assist the committee, please do not hesitate to call on us. I have been asked by some of our people to present a brief factual statement as to the importance of California agriculture which might explain why so many different segments of our industry want to talk here today. Agriculture is a very important part of the economy of California. Approximately 10 percent of the people gainfully employed in this State are engaged directly in agriculture. Probably an equal number of workers are employed in activities which are directly related to agriculture, such as the processing of agricultural commodities the grading, packing and preparation of these commodities for market, and the transportation and handling of agricultural commodities in the channels through which they reach the consumer. California agriculture is of vital importance in the national economy, since we are the leading State in total value of agricultural production. For several years we have produced agricultural commodities having an annual farm value of more than $21/2 billion. This represents about 12 percent of the Nation's cash receipts from farm marketing of crops, and about 6 percent from livestock. There is great diversity in our agriculture due to the wide range of climates and soil throughout the State, and to the fact that we have about 7 million irrigated acres, or about one-third of the total irrigated acreage of the United States. More than 200 different agricultural commodities are produced in commercial quantities. Some of these are crops which are produced nowhere else in the country, while others are the staple or basic commodities which make up the bulk of our national farm production. The three leading agricultural enterprises in California in terms of total income are dairying, cotton growing, and cattle raising. These three account for approximately one-third of the total value of the agricultural production of the State. During the last year our production of dairy products had a farm value of more than $300 million. The value of cattle and calves sold by farmers and ranchers was $274 million. Cotton and cottonseed yielded a farm income of $286 million. Eggs, chickens, and broilers accounted for $197 million of farm income with an additional $50 million derived from turkeys. At the same time, California holds first place among all States in the production of fruits and vegetables, normally accounting for more than one-third of the Nation's commercial fruits (fresh and processed) in terms of value, nearly one-fourth of the commercial vegetables (fresh and processed), and about two-thirds of the commercial tree nuts. The total value of California's citrus crops last year was $139 million. The value of the State's grape crop was $107 million, and the production of deciduous fruits amounted to $183 million. The total value of all fruit and nut crops produced in California last year was more than $500 million, and the farm value of commercial vegetable crops was $330 million. I have appended to this statement, Mr. Chairman, a statistical compilation of the value of these crops. The CHAIRMAN. That compilation will be placed in the record at (The tabulation is as follows:) this point. (Bulletin-Department of Agriculture) California farm production and value-Estimates of the production and farm value of principal products of California farms in 1954 1 Dairy products. Pounds sold. Cotton lint and seed 883,000 Bales of lint Tons of seed. Cattle and calves. Pounds sold. Eggs (chicken) Number sold. Нау.. 1,891, 000 Ton... Grapes.. 445, 522 do. Oranges 183, 208 Box (77-pound) Barley 1, 915, 000 Bushel (48-pound) Lettuce. 123, 900 Crate (70-pound). Tomatoes. 111, 200 Ton. Potatoes 103,000 Bushel (60-pound) Chickens (all) Pounds sold Sugar beets 218, 600 Ton... Turkeys Head sold Rice 453, 000 Bag (100-pound) Peaches. 75, 728 Ton.. Lemons 52, 931 Box (79-pound) Beans, dry. 334, 000 Bag (100-pound) Prunes. 94, 292 Ton (dry). Carrots 24, 100 Crate (75-pound) Strawberries. 10, 900 Tray (12-pint) Pears 39, 029 Ton.. Sheep and lambs. Pounds sold. Celery. 15, 800 Crate (60-pound). Walnuts. 113,263 Ton.. Hogs.. Pounds sold Almonds 92, 633 Ton.. Cantaloups 44,000 Crate (83-pound) Alfalfa seed 123, 000 Pound Wheat. 463, 000 Bushel (60-pound) Asparagus. 72, 400 Ton Apricots. 41, 397 do. Apples, commercial only 22, 775 Bushel (44-pound) Corn (field) 160, 000 Bushel (56-pound) Plums. 21, 926 Ton Grain sorghums. 156, 000 Bushel (56-pound) Beans, snap. 9,300 Ton Wool Pound. Olives. 28, 163 Ton.. Avocados. 16, 292 Cherries. 9, 121 do. Broccoli 19, 700 Crate (42-pound) Onions 10,300 Sack (50-pound) Corn (sweet) 22, 300 Crate (50-pound). Potatoes, sweet 12, 000 Bushel (55-pound) Honeydew melons TOUT 8, 900 Crate (44-pound) Oats... 196,000 Bushel (32-pound) Beans, green lima. 27, 400 Ton. Cauliflower.. 10, 700 Crate (37-pound). Figs, all 25, 162 Ton Watermelons. 20, 200 -.--.do. Honey and beeswax. Pound (honey) Hops. 6,300 Pound Flaxseed 41,000 Bushel (56-pound) Grapefruit. 8, 219 Box (65-pound) Cucumbers. 6, 200 Ton Peppers, chili 3, 900....do. Peas, green 16, 600 -...do Cabbage. 9400 do. Peppers, bell. 3, 100 Bushel (25 pounds). Artichokes. 9,000 Box (40 pounds) Spinach 9, 600 Ton.. Garlic.com 1,950 Sack (100 pounds) Ladino clover seed. 14,000 Pound. Dates. 4, 700 Ton.. Sudan grass seed 13.000 Pound. Persian melons.. 1, 900 Crate (83 pounds) Peas, dry, field 8,000 Bag (100 pounds) See footnotes at end of table, p. 1526. 6,698, 000, 000 1, 487,000 619,000 1, 493, 540, 000 4, 413,000,000 6, 243, 000 2,329, 000 31, 960, 000 69, 898, 000 25, 378,000 1, 612, 032 38, 210,000 239, 770,000 4,641,000 9,799, 000 10, 872,000 730, 000 16, 130, 000 5, 122, 000 174, 500 8, 546, 000 16,568,000 402, 000 155, 402, 000 13,000,000 67,000 88, 021, 000 43, 200 6,585, 000 59, 040, 000 9, 260,000 75, 015 139,000 9, 200,000 7,680,000 68,000 7,644, 000 56, 610 52, 000 23, 200 38, 630 4, 824, 000 36, 900 129, 300 33, 831, 000 10,080,000 1, 189,000 2,500,000 58, 198 6, 400 22, 880 87, 200 1, 690,000 900,000 60, 290 136,000 3, 430,000 15, 400 228,000 $301, 204,000 787,000 California farm production and value-Estimates of the production and farm value of principal products of California farms in 1954 —Continued 1 Brief explanatory notes about the data in the above table: Besides the commodities listed, there are many relatively minor crops grown and a number of livestock and poultry commodities produced in the State for which official estimates are not made. Therefore, these data do not record total production nor total value of all farm commodities. The figures for crops listed include quantities and values of the portions of those crops fed to livestock and poultry on farms where grown, and thus relate to the entire crop in each case, whether or not sold or fed in the year produced. The value figures for livestock, poultry, and their products represent the cash receipts by producers from the sales of same during the calendar year 1954. Thus, a combined total of the values listed in the table would include some duplication between the values of crops grown and the receipts from the sales of livestock, poultry, and their products. A more acceptable measure of the overall annual value of the State's farm production is shown by the department's estimates of the cash receipts from producers' sales of farm products during the calendar year. In these are included estimates for minor commodities. These estimates for 1953 and 1954 are shown below. During the 25-year period 1930 to 1954, inclusive, cash receipts from farm marketings by California farmers have excoeded those from any other State, except for the years 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, and 1949 when California ranked second to Iowa in this respect. Estimated cash farm receipts from farm marketings, California—1953 and 1954 Source: California Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, Sacramento; U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service; California Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. The CHAIRMAN. May I suggest that witnesses, particularly those who will listen to those testifying, listen carefully and try to prevent as much duplication as possible. We are building up a record here. It is my hope that there will not be too much repetition. I want to give assurance to those who may not have an opportunity to read their entire statements that whatever they have to say will be printed in the record in full, as though they had stated it. We are here with you for 5 or 6 hours. I realize that California produces quite a few products, as has been stated by Mr. Dick just a moment ago and it will be necessary, because of the large number of witnesses, to hear but a few representing each commodity. I wish to place in the record at this point a telegram addressed to me and signed by Mr. James D. Lynch, secretary, San Fernando Valley Poultry Cooperative, Inc., and another from Mr. John S. Watson, 498 Pepper Road, Petaluma, Calif., both of which are addressed to me. (The telegrams are as follows:) SAN FERNANDO, CALIF., October 31, 1955. Hon. Senator ALLEN ELLENDER, Hotel Californian, Fresno, Calif.: On October 27 we aproved the five-point program as sponsors by the California Farm Research and Legislative Committee to aid the poultry and egg producer. We urgently request your indulgence with regard to this program. JAMES D. LYNCH, Secretary, San Fernando Valley Poultry Co-op, Inc. |